


A Series of Fortunate Events

by aj_hofacre, lydiamartin (dwinchester)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-13 05:45:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7964734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_hofacre/pseuds/aj_hofacre, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwinchester/pseuds/lydiamartin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lydia turns sixteen and gets a book series about some interesting characters named Scott and Stiles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Lydia hugged her mom and looked back down at the gift certificate for Classic Wit, the bookstore downtown that had been in existence longer than Lydia herself. She had always begged to go into the store when they were downtown for any reason. “Thank you.” She traced her fingers over the numbers on the amount line, already daydreaming about what she would spend two hundred dollars on. Maybe an old, first edition of something. 

Natalie laughed. “You’re welcome. You’re going there right now, aren’t you?” She gave her daughter a fond smile. “Don’t stay in there all day. Just pick out something and get it. You can always return it for credit, later.” 

Lydia nodded, but she wasn’t really listening. She stood up and picked up her purse on her way outside. For being the end of March, it was a beautiful day. The snow had finally started to melt, and she could practically smell flowers blooming. She decided to walk instead of drive, shivering a little because she had been in a hurry and hadn’t bothered with a jacket. 

“Lyds!” Allison called, coming to a stop on the side of the road in her car. She waved at her best friend. “Where are you going? You must be freezing! Get in here, I’ll drive you.”

Lydia laughed and hurried over to the car, grinning at her best friend. “My mom gave me a g-gift certificate.” She explained through chattering teeth, sitting down in the passenger seat and rubbing her arms. “I was too excited to think about the cold weather. I just wanted to go get something.” 

Allison laughed softly, reaching into the backseat and grabbing a spare hoodie. “Here, put this on. It’s fleece, and it’s really fluffy, so you’ll feel all soft and warm in no time.” She directed one of the vents toward Lydia, angling it so that it would hit the redhead’s body, not her face. “Must have been a hell of a gift certificate.” She teased. “I know how you are about your books.”

Lydia put the hoodie on, shoving the hood behind her and twisting her hair around her hand to tug it free from the fleece. “Two hundred dollars.” She agreed. “We haven’t been able to spend much on anything, since my parents got divorced. She must have been saving up for months.” 

Allison’s face softened and she let out an ‘aww.’ “She knows how much you love that place. It would have been worth it to her, to set aside that much money for you.” She squeezed Lydia’s arm with a smile and started down the road once more, once Lydia was settled. 

“I don’t know what to get.” Lydia blurted. “I’ve had my eye on a few things, but it didn’t seem worth spending money on books when my bookcase is already overloaded and I’m trying to train myself not to just buy whatever I want all the time, anymore. It’s strange to me now that I would go buy four or five different outfits just for a party that lasted three hours.” 

“Well, if you ever do need two or three extra outfits to wear for another party, let me know.” Allison told her, smiling. “You know you can borrow anything out of my closet. A lot of it was probably originally yours, anyway.” She giggled.

Lydia smiled. “All I really want to do today is get a book or two and go home to read them. I haven’t done something like that in a while.” 

Allison nodded in understanding. “Sit back and relax and lose yourself for a while. I could come over later, if you want. After you finish your reading for the day?”

Lydia bit her lip. “Yeah. I’d like that. Unless you feel like hanging around while I read?” 

Allison grinned. “I don’t mind that, either.” She paused, and then shrugged. “I wasn’t really going anywhere but home, Lyds, I just happened to spot you walking and got you in here before you turned into a red-headed popsicle. I’ll even go to the store with you.”

Lydia burst out laughing. “I wasn’t that cold!” She protested. 

“Well, you sure as hell looked it.” Allison teased. “And you’re sure cuddling into that hoodie pretty hard.”

“It’s so warm.” Lydia murmured. “Probably because it’s been sitting in this car since October. When’s the last time you cleaned?” She retorted, but she was too happy to really care. “I just hope it’s warm from the sun and not because a raccoon or something was living in it.” 

“Nope! No raccoons in here.” She went quiet. “Might have been a possum.”

Lydia shrieked, but she started laughing again. “I don’t like you. Let me out.” She shook her head, smiling. “I feel like today’s going to be an amazing day. My birthday. Happy birthday, Lydia. Thank you, Allison.” 

Allison pulled her car off to the side of the road and stopped, barely letting a second pass before she lunged for Lydia, hugging her tightly and pressing a loud, smacking kiss to her forehead. “Happy birthday, Lydia!” She echoed, giggling.

Lydia smiled at her best friend, but she got her compact out of her purse to make sure the brunette hadn’t left a lipstick mark on her forehead. She was still trying to figure out what section of the store to go to, knowing that she would end up with a book from wherever she stopped. 

Allison got out of the car and yawned before she closed the door and rounded it to her friend’s side of the car. She leaned against the car, her hands hanging loosely in front of her. “So, any thoughts on what you want, yet?”

Lydia shook her head as she closed the passenger side door. “Not yet.” She admitted. “I think I’m just going to wander around until I find something.” She walked into the store, glancing to her left and right. 

Allison followed her inside and started to wander around curiously. “I’m gonna browse, Lyds. Text me if you find anything.”

“Okay.” Lydia called out to her. She pressed her lips together and smiled to herself, walking through the store to look for one of the employees. She knew they would have at least one book set aside for her, with all the time she spent in the store. 

Marin nodded to the redhead. “Are you here to get something in particular?” She asked, a knowing smile on her face. 

Lydia grinned back. “No, nothing I can think of. I got the certificate from my mom. I just don’t know what to spend it on.” 

As Lydia spoke, Marin grabbed a box from under the counter and laughed. She set it down on a table. “I ordered these for you awhile ago, I’ve just been waiting for you to ask me for them.” 

“But I didn’t...” Lydia trailed off, shrugging one shoulder as the store owner walked away. Morrell did that to her a lot, she was used to it. Instead, she turned toward the box and pulled out one of the books, examining the front cover. It was mostly nondescript, a plain blue paperback with an embossed police badge in faded silver. She set it aside and picked up the next one, a light green cover with an embossed horse and carriage. She smiled slowly and set the second book back in the box, picking up the first book and sitting down to read. They seemed like they were old books, so she didn’t understand how or why they would have been ordered for her, like they were new. 

_Stiles Stilinski turned the crank on the front of his car until the engine started. He hurriedly got in, driving after the bank robber that had just struck again. He knew his dad wouldn’t like the idea of him going after the criminal by himself, but it was their only chance to stop him._

Lydia was already into the second chapter within minutes, caught up in the chase between the teenage boy and the thief. When Stiles managed to catch the criminal, she sighed in relief. She remembered suddenly that she had told Allison that she would text her, so she got her phone out of her purse and sent her a message. ‘Morrell gave me a lot of books that she said she ordered for me. I’ll buy them and we can go. I was reading.’

‘Hah! I knew you would be. I’m at the cafe next door getting us some coffees. I’ll be back in just a second, unless you just want to meet me out by the car?’

‘By the car.’ Lydia replied, getting up and putting the first book back in the box. She felt too impatient to get home, so she set the certificate down and put a paperweight over it, then picked up the box and carried it outside, not concerned about someone else taking the paper before Morrell got to it. It amazed her how the store stayed in business. Whenever she went in, nobody else was there. 

Allison smiled at her as she walked over, handing her a coffee. Squinting her eyes at the other girl, she let out a sudden laugh. “Ohhh. Whatever you got from Morrell must be a really good read. You’ve got that flushy thing happening all over your face and neck.” She teased, opening the passenger side door.

Lydia laughed and set the box down on her seat, then opened the back door and moved the box. She took the coffee and sipped it. “The first book is good. I don’t know why, but I like the villain more than the hero. I only got through the first chapter, though. And he’s not much of a villain, he was caught in the first twenty pages. So I have a feeling he’ll be more important later.” 

“Maybe he wasn’t ever really a villain.” Allison suggested, shrugging, taking a sip of her own coffee. “Maybe he’s there to lead you to the _real_ villain.” She winked, then tapped her nose.

Lydia smiled. “Maybe. Of course you’d think that, after everything we’ve been through. These books are just... I don’t understand them. They look old, but Morrell said she ordered them for me. Like they’re new. Maybe they were aged to look old. The guy in the book had to crank up his car to get it to start. And it seemed like something from an earlier era.” 

Allison frowned. “Maybe they’re some sort of new reprint sort of thing? Like… I don’t know.” She peered at the books. “They look pretty nifty to me, I mean. I like that look.” Shaking her head, she straightened. “Anyway. Did you pay for them?”

“I just left my certificate. Morrell was in the back or something.” Lydia admitted. “I guess it was a little rude, but I just want to go home and read.” 

“Hope Morrell doesn’t think she gets to keep all of that.” Allison peered at the books again, frowning. “How much do books like those cost, anyway?” She rounded the car and slid into the driver’s seat, setting her coffee in the cupholder and dragging her seatbelt over her chest before she started the car.

Lydia set her cup down beside Allison’s and twisted around to get one of the books, so that she could find out how much each one was. The box had at least a dozen novels, but the first book didn’t have a barcode or a price listed anywhere. Not even in the first few pages, the way some books did. “I don’t know.” 

Allison furrowed her brows together, glancing briefly at the book before she merged into traffic and started driving to Lydia’s house. She looked hesitantly up at Lydia. “Could I start on one of those books? While you’re reading the one you started, I mean? It’s cool if you say no, I just wondered.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind.” Lydia smiled. “Probably one of the later ones, since I think I’ll be done with the first one and ready for the second, in an hour. The books aren’t very large.” 

Allison smiled back. “Good. It’ll be short enough that my attention span can handle it, but hopefully enough of a good read that I’ll be satisfied with it.” She fell mostly silent as she continued to drive, pulling up the Martin’s long driveway and parking the car near the garage. “Is your mom still in the house, or did she say anything about peacing out with Peter?”

“I’m pretty sure she’s gone, her car’s not here.” Lydia murmured. She wanted to be irritated, but she had left before her mom had. 

Allison glanced at her, frowning a little. “She didn’t tell you she was going out at all, did she.”

“No.” Lydia admitted. “It’s fine, I’ve got my books. I’ll make some hot chocolate or something and we can read in the living room.” She got out and hefted the box in her arms, carrying it to the porch. She had to set it down to get her keys out, but she got the door unlocked and pushed the box into the house. 

Allison walked into the house after her, picking up the box for Lydia and taking it into the living room. She set it down in front of the couch and straightened again, dropping an arm around Lydia’s shoulders before smiling at her. “Have you eaten yet? You could make the hot chocolate, and I can order out or something. Even if we don’t eat right away, we could just put it in the fridge until we’re hungry.”

Lydia nodded. “That sounds good. I don’t know what I want.” She made a face. “Don’t tell anyone I said that. Ever. Okay? I just know that I don’t want pizza. Maybe Italian, but not pizza.” She went into the kitchen to start making hot chocolate. 

Allison pulled up a search on her phone, tilting her head curiously. “What about Chinese, or Thai? It’s been awhile since I’ve had some really good Pad See Ew.”

“Thai.” Lydia agreed. “Comfort food. I’m not making hot chocolate, then. I’ll make some tea.” She smiled. “And then I’ll get back to Scott, the wayward bank robber.” 

Allison laughed. “Sounds good. I’ll pull up the menu and put together a blanket fort, you pick out what you want, and then I’ll put in the order.” She grinned. “The tea will be finished, and we can curl up inside the fort and wait with good books for our food.”

Lydia’s smile widened and she filled a kettle with water, waiting for it to boil as she made a blend of her favorite tea, putting it in the empty bags she had bought online. Once that was done, she went back into the living room. “I want almond chicken.” She told her friend, then grabbed the first novel from the box and carried it back into the kitchen. She sat down at the table, eyeing the kettle before she opened the book again. 

Allison nodded and grabbed her phone, calling the nearby Thai place and putting in their order before she went back to dragging every blanket in the house into the living room. After a while, she stood back and observed her work with a pleased grin. “Blanket fort’s ready!” She called to Lydia, grabbing one of the novels, as well as a pillow and crawling inside the fort.

“I’ll be there in a minute.” Lydia yelled back. She had to drag herself out of her seat a moment later when the kettle whistled. She poured hot water into the tea cups, letting the tea steep while she took her book back into the living room. She crawled into the fort and put her feet up on the couch, laying with her back on the floor as she started reading again. She stopped when she finished chapter two and turned toward Allison. “What do you think so far? Don’t tell me what happens. But what do you think?” 

Allison was sprawled on her stomach, cuddling up to the pillow as she slowly flipped the pages in the book. She pressed her palm down flat on top of the book and looked up at Lydia. “It’s awesome.” She told Lydia bluntly, her eyes wide. “I’m only a few pages in, but the way that it reads, I feel like I could get sucked right into the pages.” She lifted the book so that Lydia could see the cover - dark burgundy with a gold, mechanical-looking ship in the center. “I thought it was going to be, like, some sort of bodice ripper,” she laughed. “But it’s not. It’s… there are _airships_ and Scott and Stiles are at college. There are two girls that they’ve met, and students are disappearing, and Stiles is determined to stop it.” She looked at Lydia, flabbergasted. “They landed at the college in a frigging airship. Where the hell did they get an airship?”

“I think all of the books are like that.” Lydia smiled. “The one after this has a horse-drawn carriage. It’s like they’re all Victorian, but they talk about using computers and they carry these... it’s like a cell phone, but it’s more like a handheld Morse Code device. Like how they used to send telegraphs.” She laughed. “Whoever wrote these, they have a big imagination. I feel like... well, like you said. Like I’m there with them.” 

“They’re _amazing_.” Allison blurted. “I feel like I can read them over and over again and never get tired of them.” A knock came at the door and Allison flailed. “Shit, food!”

Lydia laughed. “You get the food, I’ll get the tea.”

“On it.” Allison grinned, scrambling out of the fort, but not before carefully earmarking the page of the book she was on.

Lydia stuck her finger into her cup of tea to make sure it had cooled off enough before she carried both drinks into the living room. She could picture Scott, his hair and eyes dark brown, being kind to everyone. She hadn’t finished the book yet, but she just knew that there was no way he could have robbed the banks to be malicious. She knew there had to be another reason, and she was eager to know what it was. She got back into the blanket fort and sipped her tea, picking up her book to keep reading. 

_Scott glanced up at the Sheriff. Stiles’ father looked disappointed, and Scott’s stomach lurched as he tried to think of how to explain that the money was being divided up and given to people in the city who needed it, badly. Women who had lost their husbands in the war, which he didn’t agree with. He was afraid that the man, a decorated soldier, would see fit to punish Scott by making him enlist. “I can’t tell you why I took the money.” He said finally._

_“Can’t or won’t, Scott?” John asked softly._

_“I won’t tell you why I took the money.” Scott amended._

Lydia sighed. She understood what it was like to have someone place so many expectations on her, then get mad when she couldn’t live up to them. She couldn’t begin to imagine what she would do if military drafting was still happening in the United States. She knew it took place in other countries. She closed the book and bit her lip. She was nearly done with the book already, but it was only one book and not even two hours since she bought it, and she felt ridiculous to be so enamored with someone who wasn’t even real. The last time she had felt this way about a fictional character, she had been six years old and insisting that she was Ariel from The Little Mermaid. 

“Lyds, help, please?” Allison requested, carefully trying to balance the two bags of food and shuffling forward awkwardly on her knees.

Lydia glanced up, blinking a few times as her vision adjusted. She held a hand out to get the bags from Allison. 

Allison slipped inside the fort gratefully, and then peered at Lydia curiously. “You okay? You look a little thrown. What happened in the book?”

“You really want spoilers?” Lydia asked, skeptical of that being true. 

Allison made a face. “No. Mostly I want to know what’s going on with you.”

Lydia made a face back at her best friend. “Lately, I’ve been feeling like I hate it here. Not exactly. That’s just the best way I can explain it. It’s like I was born in the wrong era or the wrong universe or something. These books felt like mine, even without knowing they were mine. Like if I hadn’t gotten them all boxed up from Morrell, I would have gravitated to them on the shelves and picked up all of them, by myself. Sometimes I feel like I’m not even a main character of my own story, but more like I’m a supporting character in someone else’s. And I know you’re going to say that’s not true. I know it’s not true. That doesn’t stop me from feeling that way. Scott’s - without giving you too many spoilers, okay? I have to tell you something. He’s doing the wrong thing for the right reasons and if anyone understands that, I do. I’ve sort of been lonely. It’s been scary, sleepwalking and waking up mid-scream, standing over a corpse. For awhile, I even thought I was the one doing it. Killing people, I mean. It would be nice if I had someone that understood that. And it’s not that you don’t.” She sighed. “I know that you do. But, and don’t be offended by me saying it, you can’t comfort me in certain ways.” 

Allison’s face softened. “I know. I wish I could.” She paused. “... I mean - you know what I mean. I didn’t mean it like that. But I wish I could help you. I’m so sorry, Lyds. I had no idea you’d been feeling that badly.”

“I didn’t exactly want anyone to know.” Lydia pointed out. “They’re just books, but they don’t feel like it.” She shrugged one shoulder and picked up her tea, taking a long drink of it. “Do you want to go for a walk after we eat? We could walk down to the park, maybe. It’s a nice day and I don’t want to waste it.” 

Allison nodded. “Yeah. That sounds like a great idea.” She murmured, and then started unpacking her bag of food before grabbing the book and settling in cross-legged against the couch wall of the fort. “But for now, I wanna follow Stiles around and eat delicious noodles.”

“See, you like him.” Lydia laughed. “I don’t. It just feels like... I don’t know why, but I’m not interested in what he has to say at all. I might finish these books faster than I thought, I’m going to be skipping through to find out what Scott is doing.” 

“But a lot of what he’s doing has got to be the same thing as what Stiles is doing, right?” Allison pointed out at her. “Since they’re almost always in the same scenes. In my book so far, anyway.”

“It’s the way he does it. In this one, it’s like... sort of like you and me, I guess. We might have the same goal, but we have different reasons for it and different ways to get there. Of course you like him, you’re both kind of reckless and you think on your feet. I like to sit down and plan things. Scott seems like that. But that could just be wishful thinking, I don’t know.” Lydia laughed. “We’re getting way too into these books. Let’s just go outside.” 

Allison snorted out a laugh. “Alright. Don’t forget the hoodie.” She told her friend, her lips twitching.

“I won’t.” Lydia stuck her tongue out at Allison and got up from the fort, deciding to leave it there. If her mom came home before she got back and was annoyed about it, that wasn’t Lydia’s problem. She put the hoodie on and stuck her food in the fridge, then walked outside and looked around. 

Allison scrunched her nose up at Lydia and stuck her own tongue out, following the other girl out of the fort. “I freaking love this thing.” She muttered, putting her own food in the fridge and darting after Lydia. “I’m so proud of that fort. Remind me to take pictures before someone fucks it up.”

Lydia smiled. “Okay. You probably should do it now.” She suggested. “If Peter comes back here with my mom, he might tear it down, just to be an ass.” 

“Ugh.” Allison rolled her eyes, then whined. “It’s unfair. It’s so unfair. He should not be allowed to be such an asshole and be as attractive as he is.”

“Eww.” Lydia shook her head. “Oh, that’s why you like Stiles. He’s an asshole, too.” She teased. “Still, gross.” She glanced up when her mom pulled into the driveway. Alone. 

Natalie slammed her car door shut and walked across the yard, toward the front porch. 

“Mom? What happened?” Lydia asked, worried. 

“Peter.” Natalie muttered. “Don’t be out too late.” She turned her head to look at Lydia. “Do we still have wine in the kitchen?” 

“I think so.” Lydia nearly jumped when her mom sighed and went into the house, slamming the door again. “She’s so pissed. She’s not going to like-” 

From inside the house, Natalie screamed. “Lydia! Seriously, you’re sixteen, not five!” 

“The fort.” Lydia finished, grimacing. 

“Jesus christ.” Allison muttered. “My fault, Ms. Martin!” She called into the house and scowled. “What did Peter do that made her walk in here with a bug up her ass now?”

“If I had to guess, he dumped her.” Lydia scowled, realizing something. “On my birthday! Great, she’s going to hate this day every year, for at least the next two or three. She was serious about him. I’m going to be nineteen before she’s over this.” 

Allison cringed. “Oh, hell. Is there anyone around that we can - oh. Wait!” She tapped Lydia’s arm, her other hand flailing. “My dad! We can do an emergency hook-up for her with my dad! They know each other, they already like each other, my dad hasn’t dated since my mom left, and if they get married, we’d be actual sisters, it’d be perfect.”

Lydia smiled. “Sure. You’d be Hayley Mills and I’d be Lindsay Lohan. Before her drug problems.” She teased. “Let’s give her at least a day before we set her up on a date, though.” She walked down the steps and toward the park, glancing over at Allison when they got to the end of her block. “Maybe we should focus on finding boyfriends for ourselves, so we aren’t pining after fictional guys.” 

Allison made a face. “There’s no one in this town I even would consider.” She admitted honestly. “They’re all too childish.”

“Even Peter?” Lydia laughed. She crossed the street, glancing at a puddle before she got a look of childish glee on her face and jumped in it. Water soaked her socks and shoes, and had splashed halfway up her jeans. She didn’t care. 

Allison beamed at her, letting out a delighted laugh. She backed up several paces, and then took a running leap, jumping into the puddle as well and shrieking when the water splashed in her face. “Oh my god!” She sputtered, laughing. “Hey, even adult men can be immature as hell. I’m sure that counts Peter, too.” Her lips curved up. “I mean, I’m guessing he’s more adult than most, but even he’s gotta have his childish side.” Her gaze drifted. “Maybe he kicks, or steals the sheets.”

“I’m going to shove you into a snowbank if you don’t stop talking about my mom’s ex-boyfriend.” Lydia laughed again and shook her head. “He put his penis in my mother. I don’t want to hear about how hot you think he is.” She glanced around. “I want a guy that lets me steal the sheets.” 

Allison scoffed. “Good luck finding that around here.” She said, raising an eyebrow. “You’d be lucky to get a guy who would share a piece of gum.”

“You’re right.” Lydia sighed. She stuck her hands in the pockets of the hoodie and started walking again. The park was still a good half mile away, and she wanted to just go sit down and relax. 

Allison went silent as she walked, and she gently nudged her shoulder against Lydia’s. “Hey. I’m sorry I’m kind of bursting your bubble and everything. I just want to be realistic, and the boys here in town really do suck. I don’t think you should ever have to settle. You deserve the best, even if the best lives three towns over and is six to ten years older than you and, you know, has bright blue eyes and a goatee and is kind of an asshole and has a sneer when he smiles.”

“Who?” Lydia laughed. “Who are you talking about?” 

Allison rolled her eyes. “I got distracted and started talking about someone _I_ would like to climb like a tree, not anyone you want.”

“I’m not really a tree hugger.” Lydia agreed, amused. “I want someone with nice arms and a great smile. A nice someone. I don’t like mean guys.”

Allison nodded. “Mean guys are a lot to deal with.” She sighed. “But sometimes they have their moments, you know?”

“No, I don’t.” Lydia murmured. “And my mom should know better than to date another mean guy, she just divorced one.”

Allison blinked and then groaned. “God, I've got the same taste in men that your mom does, almost. Thank god I think your dad is a grade-A fucking douchebag.”

Lydia wasn't listening very intently. It was unlike her to ignore Allison, but her head was full of questions. She glanced over at her friend. “I want to learn Morse Code. Beyond SOS. Everyone knows that. I know I’m already obsessed, but somebody else must have read these, too. Someone we can talk to about them.”

Allison chewed on her lower lip. “Kind of hard to know for sure since I didn't really see a title on the book, but maybe we could copy a line of text into a web search? If someone has read it before, maybe they'll have done a review, or reblogged a quote that they loved or something?” She turned to look at Lydia. “Where do you find someone who can teach Morse code, though?” 

“Apps.” Lydia murmured. “That works, though. Someone else has to have read these.” She sat down on a bench and smiled. 

Allison smiled back and nodded as she sat down beside the other girl. 

Lydia typed ‘Stiles Stilinski’ into a search on her phone. It didn't give her any legitimate results. Neither did ‘Scott McCall.’ The books weren’t titled and no author had been listed, so she couldn't search for those things. She was starting to think that Morrell was messing with her. 

Allison stared down at her own phone, furrowing her brow. “Well, I found one app that’s just really simply called ‘Learn Morse Code’. The screenshots make it look easy enough, but there are a couple of complaints about it, like the UI is difficult, but then there’s another comment that contradicts _that_ one. Ugh. I’m looking for another.” She scowled and exited out of the app, searching for another one.

Lydia smiled. “We’ll be able to talk in pencil taps.”

Allison grinned at her. “No one else will know. Unless they're a war veteran that happened to learn Morse code and still remembers every tap.”


	2. Chapter 2

Lydia was still testing herself on Morse Code between classes and hurrying through in-class assignments to give herself time to read more of the series. It had only been a couple of days, but she was on the ninth book already and dreading when she would inevitably finish book twelve. 

Cora sat next to her, her nostrils flaring. “You smell twitchy. And your heart is thumping faster than a rabbit’s. What’s going on with you? You’ve smelled like this for a few days now.”

“I want class to be over, so that I can finish my book. But I don’t want to finish my book.” Lydia laughed. 

“This is about a book?” Cora squinted at Lydia, looking bewildered. “A book. Is it a gold book? Does it raise the dead or get rid of your enemies or something?”

“No, but it’s got a guy in it that I wish was real.” Lydia admitted, feeling a little embarrassed. 

Cora frowned. “Oh. Well… is the book based on real people? Maybe you could find that guy for real.”

“I tried already.” Lydia murmured. “I’ve done searches on everything I can think of, relating to the books. There’s no author listed. No titles. The books are weird, but... well, you would have to read them. Do you want to read them?” 

Cora made a face, quickly trying to cover it up. “Uh. Reading… isn’t really my thing, exactly?” She said slowly, and then hesitated, intrigued despite herself. What kind of book didn’t even have an author, or title? “... Actually… maybe I do.”

Lydia smiled and got the first book out of her backpack. She held it out to Cora. “When you finish this, I want to know what you think.” 

Cora took the book, studying it with squinted eyes and sniffing it suspiciously. “Sure.” She murmured, and started to flip it open before the teacher entered the room. She scowled and slipped the book into her bag.

Lydia tried to focus, but she started thinking about Scott, wondering what college classes he was taking and if he had to write all of his assignments in the light of an oil lamp, with a quill and ink. She sighed contentedly and put her chin down on her arms, smiling. The late night she had spent reading the books caught up to her, and she drifted off to sleep before she could stop herself. 

_”Hey, sleepyhead.” Scott teased, running a hand over Lydia’s hair. “These late nights of yours are going to get you in trouble, Lyds.”_

_“I just wanted to spend more time with you.” Lydia murmured defensively. “I’ve never been drawn to anyone the way I feel... about you.” She hadn’t meant to be so candid, and she felt embarrassed by it. Still, she continued. “I’ve dated before, but it wasn’t the same as this.”_

_Scott’s eyes were soft as he settled down next to her. “Lydia, you’re incredible.” He told her. “I wish there was a way for me to spend more time with_ you _. I don’t even get the chance.” He smiled a little sadly, his lips tilting crookedly. “I can’t even read about you, like you can about me. I have nothing of you.”_

_Lydia sat up, her eyes searching his. “Is there a way I can find you? Or if you come to me in my dreams like this, I could just sleep more.” She smiled._

_Scott reached out to cup her cheek in his palm. He smiled back and sighed. “I’m a little worried if I did that, you’d always want to stay asleep. And then you wouldn’t wake up.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know if there_ is _a way for you to find me, honestly. I’m… not really sure how it would even work, if there was.”_

_“Yeah.” Lydia agreed sadly. “I don’t know what I was expecting. You’re not even real.” She bit her lip. “Are you? I mean, obviously, that’s the problem. If you say you are, that doesn’t mean that you are. This is all in my head. I’m just hoping I don’t wake up to find out that I’ve wandered off and found another corpse.”_

_Scott scooted closer to her, wrapping his arms around her in a gentle hug. “I feel real.” He said softly. “But it’s the same for me. Just because you say you’re real doesn’t mean you are. For all I know, this is all in_ my _head.” He faltered a little, unsure of how to address the ‘corpse’ comment before he shrugged it off and sighed. “At the very least… maybe I_ can _keep coming to your dreams. It seems to be the only way we can communicate with each other.”_

_“I just want to find you.” Lydia put her head down on his shoulder. She pulled away and looked at his clothes, intrigued to see if he dressed like people she knew, or if his clothes were different. “Are you asleep, too?”_

_Scott eyed her in amusement. “I think so. I’m pretty sure I am. I know I was on the airship. It must have rocked me to sleep. Why are you looking at me like that?”_

_“Your clothes are different from the clothes we wear here.” Lydia explained, smiling back at him. “And we don’t have airships. Not like yours. We have airplanes.”_

_“Airplanes?” Scott looked intrigued. “What is that? Like a flat flying sort of airship?” He glanced down at himself, and then at Lydia. “Ohh. We do wear different clothes.” He murmured._

_“I have so many things to ask you.” Lydia blurted. She reached for his hands. “What do you do for fun? I haven’t read anything like that in your stories. Just the trouble you get into. And out of.”_

_Scott laughed a little sheepishly. “I think that would be because that’s pretty much all that happens to me. I get into a lot of trouble.” His lips twitched. “I have yet to actually get properly caught. Stiles and his dad are the closest it’s come. But… I do like to fly the airship when I get the chance to. And I like tinkering with things, trying to figure out how they work.”_

_“Are you seeing anyone?” Lydia smiled._

_“I see lots of people.” Scott replied, blinking down at her. “I’m seeing you right now.”_

_Lydia giggled. “I shouldn’t have phrased it that way. I forgot. Scott, what year is it, where you are? And how old are you? Eighteen? Nineteen?”_

_Scott smiled at her. “Ah, it’s… currently two thousand and eleven. I’m twenty.”_

_“Oh.” Lydia blinked, trying to process that. “There are a few details that just aren’t mentioned, like what town you live in, or...” She tried to think of how to ask who authored the novels, but she doubted he would be able to tell her._

_“I live in the airship.” Scott told her earnestly, sitting up and nodding. “But I’m from California.”_

_“It’s just that...” Lydia bit her lip. “It’s just that the way it’s written, it’s almost like you’re in Beacon Hills. But I’ve never met you.”_

_Scott smiled gently. “I wish I had an explanation for that. I don’t know why I would never have met you.” He murmured, lifting his eyes to hers. “I would definitely have remembered you.”_

Before Lydia could respond, she was waking up to the sound of the bell, at the end of class. She felt even more sad and alone than before as she gathered her books and walked out of the room. 

“Hey!” Cora called, running to catch up. “Thanks for the book, Lyds. I’ll try to have it back to you ASAP.”

“Okay.” Lydia murmured softly. “You’re welcome.” 

Cora’s face fell a little. “What is it?” She asked, grabbing Lydia’s arm and tugging her out of the flow of student traffic. “What’s wrong?”

“Scott.” Lydia made a face. “Okay, so maybe I’m losing my mind or something, but I fell asleep and dreamed about him and he seemed so real. He’s older than me and that’s not even a detail I would have... in the books, he starts off being our age and does get older, but not twenty. He said he was twenty.” She shook her head. “I sound insane.” 

Cora furrowed her brow. “A little bit, but I’ve heard worse.” She admitted. “Maybe the books aren’t books. Or, I mean, they are, obviously, but maybe they’re more like… prophecies? Scripts? Um. Like, they’re telling the future, maybe?”

“Maybe.” Lydia agreed. “We’ve handled a few things like that, it wouldn’t be entirely impossible. Or maybe I’m just dreaming about a guy I wish was real because I read nine books, practically nonstop.” 

“Mmm, that could be it, too. But if you’ve got details on him that aren’t in the book, it sounds more like a different world, to me.” Cora told her, shrugging.

“I need to go home and go back to sleep.” Lydia blurted, suddenly frantic. “I have to go.” She shoved her books into her locker and slammed it shut. 

Cora grimaced after her. “Oops.” She muttered, sighing.

Lydia called Allison on her way outside. “Hey, I’m going home.” 

Allison squawked. “What? Well, where are you right this second? Let me come with you.”

“I’m out front. By the bus lot.” Lydia explained. “Something weird happened.” 

Allison furrowed her brow. “Weird is sort of relative here, Lydia…” She said carefully. “Anyway, I’m coming. I’m close, alright? I’ll be right there.”

“Okay.” Lydia replied, hanging up. She bit her lip, hoping that Scott was still asleep. If he was even real. She groaned in frustration and rubbed her eyes. 

Allison skidded to a stop in front of her a moment later. “I’m here. What’s going on? Why are you going home? Did something happen?”

“I fell asleep in class.” Lydia blurted. “Which I never do. I didn’t even feel that tired. And Scott was there. In my dream. He was talking to me about a few things and said that probably, the only way we can see each other is in dreams. So I have to go home. I have to go back to sleep.” She blinked, faltering. “Except... how did he know about me in the first place?” 

Allison stared at Lydia, wide-eyes and dumbfounded. “I have no idea.” She blurted. “Maybe it's different for him? Maybe he's been dreaming about you already?”

“Oh.” Lydia felt dumb, and that frustrated her. “I don’t - I’ve never dealt with this. I feel like I just finally came to terms with werewolves. And I could be wrong. It could have just been a dream. But I want it to be real.”

Allison wrapped an arm around her best friend’s shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Maybe it is. We've dealt with more confounding things before this. One of the characters in your books coming to life wouldn't be… wrong or weird or anything. It would actually be kind of amazing.” She smiled softly. “I don't even see Stiles at all. Like, I imagine him in my head, but the features never seem right. And he's definitely never come to me in a dream. Makes me feel like I'd be better off chasing all those older men if even a fictional-but-possibly-real character in a book wants nothing to do with me.”

“Well, maybe he didn’t know he could do it.” Lydia suggested. “If... we sound crazy. But I want to try again.” 

“Maybe.” Allison murmured. “Do you want me to sit with you and see if something is different while you sleep?”

“Yes.” Lydia nodded. She walked toward Allison’s car, hoping that Scott hadn’t woken up when she had. She got into the passenger side and fastened her seatbelt, settling back against the seat and closing her eyes. 

Allison climbed into the driver’s side, driving them back toward Lydia’s house and watching the other girl carefully as she drove.

_“You’re back!” Scott blurted, looking startled. “One minute I was looking dead at you, and the next you were just gone. I thought I’d done something.”_

_“No, the bell rang.” Lydia bit her lip, feeling anxious as she wondered if she would have to explain everything she said. “At school, we have bells at the start and end of each class. It woke me up. I tried to get back to you as fast as I could. I was afraid you were awake.”_

_“Oh, no.” Scott laughed softly. “I sleep like a rock. Stiles usually has to smack me with something to wake me up.” He sat back, reaching for her hand. “So… bells? Is that something like a clock alarm?” He asked curiously._

_“It is.” Lydia nodded. “From what I’ve read about you, you don’t have electricity, the way I do. But what I want to know is, how do you know about me?”_

_“You mean, how have I been aware of your existence?” Scott asked her. “It’s odd, but… I think I’ve always kind of known you. In the back of my head, you know? I used to have dreams when I was younger. People I knew, people I didn’t know, situations I’ve never been in, situations that… well, scared me. And you were there, you were always there, but I couldn’t communicate with you like I can now. I could talk to you, but it would be nonsense stuff, in the parameters of the dream, you know? Not like now.”_

_“I have books. They’re mostly about Stiles, but you’re in them. You’re in all of them. There are twelve. Maybe more, but I only have twelve. I want to see you in person, but I don’t think I can. I don’t know how. If you’re in some sort of alternate universe or something, I don’t think I can get to you, except like this.” Lydia twisted a lock of hair around her finger, thinking. “I think you’re older than me, unless for some reason, time moves differently for you. Anything is possible, right?”_

_Scott huffed out a laugh, reaching up a hand to cup her hand, his own fingers twining around the lock of hair she was playing with. “Anything_ is _possible. For all I know, I’m crossing time and space to talk to you. Maybe I shifted sideways into a different universe in my sleep, and that’s why this is happening.” He squinted at her. “Someone wrote books about Stiles? Why on earth would they do that? He isn’t interesting.” His lips twitched._

_Lydia laughed. “I wouldn’t have bothered to continue reading if I hadn’t read about you.” She admitted, feeling shy. “I want to find you. Really find you. I just don’t know how.”_

_“I wish I could tell you.” Scott told her softly, smiling a little. “I want to find you, too. I wish I could. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever known before.”_

_Lydia smiled. “So you’re not seeing anyone?” She huffed an irritated laugh, remembering how that question had been answered earlier. “Are you... are you courting someone?”_

_“I don’t really court anyone.” He admitted. “I… I mean, there are women… and men. And… I’m sure quite a few of them believe that… I’m courting them, but.” He looked embarrassed and ashamed. “I hate to say it like this, but I’m mostly just… using them. Whether it’s for a mission, or because I’m… lonely or something. I’ve never met anyone that I wanted everything with.” He cleared his throat, raising his eyes to hers pointedly._

_“I feel the same way. I’ve dated, but never out of anything more than necessity.” Lydia murmured. “Is it just you? Does Stiles do this, too?”_

_Scott shook his head. “If he does, he doesn’t tell me. I’m pretty sure he thought I was out of my mind the first time I mentioned the pretty red-haired girl that could scream like a siren and the odd things I always saw around you in my dreams.”_

_“Oh.” Lydia cleared her throat. “Those things aren’t nonsense. Where I am, there are werewolves. And I’m a banshee. Sort of like a siren, I suppose, but I don’t lure men to their deaths. I just alert them that death is coming. Or that it’s already arrived, when I’m too late. Which is always.”_

_Scott’s smile disappeared, and he wrapped an arm around her. “I’m sorry.” He murmured. “That seems like a terrible burden. I can’t imagine how that makes you feel.” He hesitated, and then leaned back, stretching his arm out and hugging her carefully._

_Lydia put her arms around Scott and sighed. “I’m going to wake up soon. I know it. I don’t want to.”_

_Scott nuzzled against her, burying his face in her hair and closing his eyes. “I don’t want you to, either. I know how that makes me sound. I know that’s dangerous for you. But I just… I’m scared if I wake up, maybe I’ll fall back asleep later and I won’t see you again.”_

_“That’s why I don’t want to wake up.” Lydia smiled softly. “I just want to stay with you.” She closed her eyes._

_“I’ll be here, Lydia.” Scott murmured, hugging her close and holding her tightly. “I won’t leave your side.”_

_“Where do you live? What’s your town called?” Lydia opened her eyes and lifted her head to look at Scott._

_“It’s a town called Beacon Valley.” Scott told her. “It’s in northern California, and surrounded by trees.”_

_“But see, that’s the same as my town. Probably. Northern California, surrounded by trees, and it’s called Beacon_ Hills.” __

_Scott furrowed his brow. “So… maybe we_ are _in alternate universes.” He stroked his hand up Lydia’s back lightly. He rubbed at his eyes. “I don’t really understand this at all.”_

_“Neither do I!” Lydia blurted. “It’s driving me crazy.”_

_Scott let out a soft laugh, smiling down at her. “Don’t let it drive you crazy. There’s always an answer to these things. It just might… take us awhile to see that answer, right?”_

_“You’re right.” Lydia agreed. She glanced up at Scott, then kissed him._

When Lydia opened her eyes, she was awake again and in her room. She sighed, glancing at Allison. “I was sleepwalking, wasn’t I?” 

Allison smiled crookedly. “Yeah. Yeah, you were. I was a little scared you were gonna walk into walls or head into the backyard and fall into the pond or something, but you just headed straight up here. I followed you the whole way. Color me impressed.” Her smile widened. “So, did anything new happen?”

“Scott’s from an alternate universe to this one.” Lydia blurted. She started running her fingers through her hair nervously, thinking. “Beacon Valley instead of Beacon Hills. He’s been dreaming about me for a while. Before I ever read the books. But it wasn’t until I started reading them that we could talk to one another. I asked him how he knew about me, he told me that. I need to find him.” 

Allison stared at her, looking a bit jealous. “How, though?” She asked, frowning. “If he’s in an alternate universe, I mean, it explains why we can’t find shit all about him here, but how do we find which alternate universe he’s in? There’s gotta be multiple ones that have what Scott and Stiles have in their world, right?”

“It’s not like I have any idea what’s going on!” Lydia snapped, irritated. “I hate not knowing what’s going on, Allison. I just want to find him.” 

Allison stared at her for a long moment, pressing her lips together tightly. “Sorry.” She muttered shortly, folding her arms. “But at least you have contact with him. You can keep talking to him and at least narrow things down a little more.”

“I don’t understand why you can’t talk to Stiles.” Lydia paused, then smiled. “Unless you already have been, and you don’t know it.” 

Allison frowned, looking at her dubiously. “How would I find out?”

“Try talking to the people in your dreams, more often. Ask them where they’re from.” Lydia suggested. “See if saying something we normally say makes them look confused. Like... I asked Scott if he was seeing anyone, and he said he was seeing me right in that moment. He didn’t understand what I meant at all.” 

Allison’s lips twitched, and she let out a little laugh. “That’s cute. Hmm. Okay…” She sighed. “It couldn’t hurt to try, right?” She paused and looked at Lydia a little hopefully. “Scott didn’t say anything about it, did he, maybe? About Stiles?”

“All he said was that Stiles never mentioned anything like it, and kind of gave him a strange look when Scott mentioned me.” Lydia mused. “But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been happening for him, too.” 

Allison made a face. “Yeah, I guess.” She sighed and flopped backwards on Lydia’s bed. “This blows. Maybe we should just talk to, I don’t know, Deaton, and see what he says about it?”

“Yeah, that’s going to go over well.” Lydia murmured, folding her hands over her stomach. “Hi Deaton, your sister gave me a bunch of books and now I’m talking to the literal guy of my dreams and I want to meet him.” 

Allison snorted. “Well, we could always ask Morrell, but I doubt we’d get a decent answer out of her, either.”

“I don’t think the books are books.” Lydia grimaced. “I hate everything about this, it’s making me sound idiotic. I just mean that for being books, they don't have a price, no ISBN, no title or author. Someone had to write them, obviously. But she said she ordered them for me, and Morrell doesn’t lie, so I don’t know. And we don’t know anyone else who has read them. I loaned the first one to Cora.” 

Allison straightened out and peered at Lydia. “Is she gonna give it back, or chew on it? Because I’m totally not gonna be cool with her if that book disappears into that trash vortex in her room.”

“Rude.” Lydia murmured, but she was trying not to laugh. “She’ll give it back. And it’s mine anyway, heathen.” She made a whining noise and grabbed her pillow, hugging it against her chest. “I just want to go back to sleep and see him again, but he said I can’t just sleep forever, it would be bad for me. I know that, obviously.” 

“Aww.” Allison’s face softened, and it made that twinge of jealousy in her stomach feel like longing instead. “He already cares about you. That’s so sweet, Lyds.” She sighed and leaned back. “He must want to find you as badly as you want to find him.”

“Well, if you and Stiles could communicate, it would get me there faster.” Lydia smiled. “Just try to sleep. Just do something.” She looked impatient. “I’m going to make some tea for you.” 

Allison waved at her. “I don’t need tea, you know I can drop off anywhere, anytime. I’m just - I don’t know. Nervous. What if there’s a reason I haven’t seen him? What if you’re right and I _have_ seen him, even spoken with him, and he doesn’t want to see me?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Lydia murmured. “I’ll keep an eye on you this time and see if anything happens.” 

Allison nodded, taking a deep breath. “Okay.” She said softly, and then took another breath, stretching out on the bed and shutting her eyes.

Lydia sat up, grabbing a pen and a notebook, in case Allison started talking in her sleep. After a moment, she turned on her video camera on her phone. 

_Stiles had grimaced when Scott mentioned seeing some girl in his dreams. He thought, at first, that his friend had somehow found out about Stiles’ own dreams and was making fun of him. Since his mom died, Stiles had dreamed about a girl with brown hair and brown eyes, who looked like she would tear someone apart at the first sign of trouble. But she was always doing something else, never so much as looking his way. And then about a month earlier, he had gotten her attention in the white room that seemed like it went on forever. When it happened, the room was overcrowded with people and Stiles still didn’t know why that was. But she had looked right at him. He was so startled, he woke up immediately. Since then, he hadn’t seen her._

_Allison sat up, looking around in confusion. She didn’t remember ever being in any place like this, in any of her dreams before, and she grimaced. Always before, she’d had a vague idea of her location, or it was just a random, standard-white, neverending room. Sometimes there were people, and sometimes there weren’t. Sometimes it was just her. This time, it wasn’t. And she was determined that it would stay that way. She didn’t have the slightest idea who she would be looking for, but she took a deep breath and wandered into the crowd, talking freely and hoping that someone stared at her long enough that she could figure out if it was Stiles or not. She hated feeling jealous of Lydia for things like this - she’d had her own track record of boyfriends, but something about the way Lydia talked about Scott just made her miserable. She was happy for her friend - but she wanted someone of her own. She wanted Stiles._

_Stiles pushed through the crowd, stealing an umbrella from a passer-by when he realized it was about to rain. He caught up to the girl and opened the umbrella over their heads as it started to pour. “Hi. If you even notice me saying it this time, I mean.”_

_Allison turned, her gaze going up to the umbrella before lowering to look at Stiles. She blinked slowly, and then bit her lip, the corners of her mouth twitching up into a smile. “Hi.” She said softly. A sharp gasp of air escaped her throat, and she laughed. “Oh, my god. It’s you.” Her hand went over her mouth. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, I just - I kind of thought that I was never going to find you. I didn’t know who I was looking for, I’d never even seen your face.” She paused, and squinted at him as her realization caught up to her. “I_ have _seen your face.”_

_“Yeah.” Stiles nodded. “We probably could have talked then, but you startled me and it woke me up.” He explained. “So... feel like walking around a little?”_

_Allison nodded, feeling inexplicably shy. “Yes. Please.”_

_Stiles smiled softly and walked with Allison, guiding her with a hand on her back. He led the way to an alley where the roof of one building was slanted at an angle and extended right to the next one, giving them a dry place to talk. He closed the umbrella and set it aside. “This keeps happening to the four of us. I think we should do something about it. We must be connected somehow. Other than this.”_

_Allison looked up at him. “We’ve kind of figured out that you’re - or we’re - in some alternate universe. I talked to Lydia about it. She says that… Scott told her he’s from Beacon Valley, surrounded by trees, in northern California. We’re from Beacon Hills. Same trees; same location in California. That can’t be a coincidence.” She shivered a little from where she was still soaked from the rain, and from the warm press of Stiles’ hand against her back._

_Stiles raked a hand through his damp hair and nodded. “I’ve never heard of any of this before. You sound like you have, though. So how’s this work?”_

_“Well…” Allison grimaced. “We’re… still trying to work that out, actually? Um. I know there needs to be a doorway of some kind. A portal, or… something. I - we’re actually trying to figure out if there’s someone we should talk to, that might be able to help. And we’ve dealt with similar things before, but it’s usually… us trying to get rid of things that jumped into our universe, not -” she looked up at him again and flushed a little. “Not us trying to find a way to bring people through.”_

_Stiles grinned. “Okay.” He rubbed his hands together to warm them up a little more. “So we’re looking for a door.” He squinted, thinking. “We need to figure out what your town looks like, in comparison to mine. Are you good at drawing maps?”_

_“I’m good at marking them for locations of potential threats.” Allison cringed. “Oh, but - Lydia’s an artist. She draws really, really well, I’m sure she could draw a map of the town without any problem.”_

_Stiles nodded. “I’ll take a look at it. Somehow. And I”ll compare it to places here, and see if there’s anything the same. Or different. An anomaly, yeah?”_

_“Yeah.” Allison murmured, furrowing her brow. “I wonder, if Lydia draws it, maybe… I can bring it with me, if I hold it when I fall asleep? Or… Maybe if I study it a lot, until I have it memorized, maybe I can… imagine a copy of it with me the next time I see you?”_

_“Yeah.” Stiles agreed. “I’ll get Scott to study it, too. He’s always talking about her.”_

_“Lately, she’s always talking about him, too.” Allison smiled._

_“Does it drive you bonkers?” Stiles teased, sitting down on a crate._

_Allison sat down beside him. “Not bonkers, exactly.” She murmured. “When she first mentioned him, I was excited for her. And when it happened again, I was jealous.” She bit her lower lip. “I didn’t know I could have found you if I’d just looked a little harder.”_

_“Well, to be fair, I wasn’t looking for you that hard.” Stiles admitted. “I thought it was a fluke, at first. Like you’d been an extra in a talkie and my mind stuck you in one of my dreams.”_

_Allison tilted her head curiously. “A talkie?” She blinked. “I didn’t even start looking for you until Lydia found Scott. She found - you’re characters in books, where I’m from. Lydia only found them…” She furrowed her brows. “They were given to her not that long ago. She started dreaming about Scott not long after. I was… scared to look for you. I didn’t think you were looking for me, or wanted to look for me, or… god, any number of things.”_

_“Well, I’m here now, ain’t I?” Stiles grinned. “Talkies. With actors and actresses and music and their voices, instead of subtitles.”_

_Allison’s eyes widened. “Oh! A movie.” She beamed. “Moving pictures… and I totally just got how they coined ‘movie.’” She smiled back at him, leaning a little toward him. “Yeah, you’re here now.” She reached her hand out for his._

_Stiles clasped Allison’s hand between both of his. “We’re going to find that door.” He smiled. “And then we’ll find each other.”_

_Allison squeezed his hand and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She couldn’t stop smiling. “I can’t wait to find you.” She breathed._

_Stiles nodded. “I can’t wait to find you, either.” He glanced up. “Rain’s stopped. You want to see my place?” He blushed. “That wasn’t an invitation for something else.”_

_Allison giggled. “I wouldn’t protest if it was, but sure. I’d love to.” She stood up and reached her hands out to him to help him up._

_Stiles took Allison’s hands and stood, tucking his hands in his pockets as he led the way out of the alley and toward his house. It was a white two-story, pretty nondescript in comparison to some of the other houses in town. He unlocked the door and let Allison in ahead of him, shutting the door and locking it. “Do you think it’s one of our houses?”_

_Allison stared around the inside of the house in disbelief. “That’s… that’s a strong possibility.” She said in a strangled voice. “This is incredible. I - this is my house.” She blurted, turning to look at Stiles with wide eyes. “Right down to the detailing on the stair railing.”_

_Stiles’ eyes widened and he grinned. “Incredible. So I bet Scott’s house is Lydia’s.” He glanced at the stairs. “Which room is yours?”_

_Allison turned to move up the stairs, turning immediately toward the door at the far end of the hall and stepping toward it. “Right here.” She murmured, looking back at him. “Which one is yours?”_

_Stiles laughed, gesturing to the door. “Same one. Yeah, it’s making more sense now.”_

_“This is insane.” Allison breathed, shaking her head and laughing. She looked at Stiles, biting her lower lip and grinning. “It’s like kismet.”_

_“Yeah.” Stiles repeated._

_Allison leaned against the wall, studying him. “So.” She said, clearing her throat. “Um, what did you want to do?”_

_“I just wanted you to see my house.” Stiles laughed. “To see if you knew who lives here, in your... universe? I figured it would be someone else, I didn’t know it was you.”_

_“Oh.” Allison laughed a little too, looking slightly embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to this. The boys back home aren’t… Um, they’re not exactly… It’s so easy to predict what they want that I tend to jump ahead?”_

_“Oh.” Stiles echoed. “I think when we get to that point, I’d rather it was real.”_

_Allison smiled faintly. “Yeah, I think I would, too.” She exhaled. “Which means we’ve got to work harder at finding that doorway.”_

_Stiles grinned. “You’re interested, yeah?”_

_Allison giggled. “I’m interested, yeah.” She echoed, and stepped forward, looping her arm around his._

_Stiles stared at Allison for a long moment. “I’m going to find you.” He said decisively. “I’ll check every part of this town.”_

_Allison blushed. “And… I’ll check every part of this town, too. On my side. But I think that was inferred.”_

_“Yeah.” Stiles nodded. He kissed Allison’s cheek. “See you.” He murmured softly._

_Allison’s mouth opened to protest, reaching for him and-_

“Dammit!” Allison blurted the moment she woke up. She put her head in her shaking hands, and then flopped over, burying her face in Lydia’s pillow. “Damn, damn, damn.”

Lydia gave Allison a sympathetic look. “Want to talk about it?” 

Allison uncovered her eyes, looking up at Lydia with a sigh. “I found him. Obviously.” She curled around the pillow. “He saw me. Just once, but he remembered me. And I saw him.” She smiled a little. “He’s funny. And sweet. And he’s so much more than I imagined.” She was silent for a long moment, and then said, “We figured out that his house, in his world is my house, too. There’s a possibility that your house is Scott’s. Oh, and - I told Stiles I would ask you to draw a map of the town, so that he could compare what Beacon Hills looked like in comparison to Beacon Valley.”

Lydia got up from her bed without hesitation, grabbing a sketchbook and starting to draw a bunch of squares and rectangles to represent downtown. She added the park, then the school, before she looked up at Allison again. “What else did he say?” 

Allison was staring up at the ceiling, her hands on her stomach. “Hmm? Oh.” She sighed. “He said he was going to search all over his town until he found the doorway here.” She lifted her head briefly to look at Lydia. “We pretty much confirmed that there had to be a doorway of some kind.” Her head flopped back down. “I want to find him. I want to see him, feel him, not just a dreamform version of him.”

“I know the feeling.” Lydia murmured. “Okay.” She set the notepad aside and stood up. “Let’s go talk to Morrell. Maybe there are more books or maybe she’ll at least tell us who wrote them.” 

Allison furrowed her brow. “What if… what if no one wrote the books?” She asked. “What if, like… they didn’t even come into existence, so to speak, until Morrell gave them to you? Like, you touched the box the books were in, and all of a sudden, words just popped onto the pages?”

“But you touched some of the books before I did.” Lydia protested. “And if things you read are different from things I read, then what on earth is Cora reading about?” 

“Well, she said the books were for you. So maybe that has something to do with it.” Allison suggested, looking lost. 

“Let’s talk to Cora, then go ask Morrell.” Lydia murmured. “School’s out for the day already, anyway.” 

“Thank god.” Allison snorted. She sat up and swung her legs off of the bed, then just sat there for a moment. She exhaled before finally standing up. “Wonder if Cora _is_ reading the same thing we are.”

Lydia called Cora’s cell phone as she grabbed her jacket, pulling it on. She hoped that Cora was reading the same words that she and Allison had been reading, that they could find out who wrote the books. 

“What?” Cora answered, frowning. “I mean. Hi. What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you read any of that book I gave you, and if you could tell me what it’s about.” Lydia sighed. “It’s a long story, but we think that what you’re reading might be different from what we read.” 

Cora frowned. “Well, I didn’t get too far into the books, Harris was on the warpath. But, uh, I got to the part where Scott is, like, running off after he robbed a bank? And, like, Stiles is chasing him?”

Lydia smiled. “Yeah, you’re reading the same thing we are. We’re going to ask Morrell a few questions about who wrote the books. Want to meet us there?” 

“Sure.” Cora cleared her throat. “She’s… not gonna ask for the book back, is she? Because I’m not done. And they’re yours now. And I’d like to finish the damn thing.”

Lydia laughed. “I won’t let her take it from you.” She assured Cora. “We’re leaving right now. We’ll see you soon.” She hung up and looked at Allison. “Cora’s reading the same thing we read. She’s as fascinated as we are.” 

Allison huffed out a laugh. “Well, that’s good to know. So, they are stylized for you then. Morrell gave them to you, so…”

“But you’re assuming that I touched the box and the box said, ‘Oh, it’s Lydia. Hurry, print something she wants to read!’ I don’t think that’s how it works.” 

“Well…” Allison laughed. “Okay, it sounds ludicrous when you put it like that. I just figured that because Morrell specifically said, ‘Hey, I ordered these for you’ that she put some kind of spell on them or something that would make them react to your touch only.”

“That’s still bothering me.” Lydia admitted. “Ordered. They don’t have barcodes, how could she order...” She paused, tilting her head. “She put them in order.” 

Allison turned to stare at Lydia, her mouth falling open, and she smacked her forehead. “She _ordered_ them, oh my god, I hate literal druids.”

“So do I.” Lydia nodded. “Okay, let’s get going. I think if Cora spends too much time around Morrell without us there, she may actually bite her.” 

Allison paused, and then blinked once. “I actually wouldn’t mind that.”

“Until someone else runs the store, I don’t want her injured.” Lydia murmured. She walked outside and got in Allison’s car. “You really think Scott lives right here?” She bit her lip. “What if he’s here right now? I mean, where he is. But here?” 

Allison smiled at her. “I think it’s a very strong possibility. Stiles’ room in his house is the exact same room I have. But you can ask him, the next time you fall asleep.”

Lydia nodded. “Unless I see him before that. I might not sleep until I figure this out.” She took a deep breath. 

Allison poked at her. “You’re gonna sleep. I’ll make you sleep.”

“Okay, okay.” Lydia laughed. “Drive faster.” She pouted. “I want to see Scott.” 

Allison reached a hand out and squeezed Lydia’s arm gently. “You will. You’ll see him. And I’ll see Stiles.” She pressed down on the accelerator.

When they got to the bookstore, Lydia got out and looked around for Cora before she went into the store. She opened her mouth to call out to Morrell, but the druid walked out from behind a shelf and stopped in front of her. 

“Yes?” Marin smiled smugly. “Are you enjoying the books?” 

“Who wrote them?” Lydia blurted. “Why aren’t they titled?” 

“Why did we start having the dreams immediately after reading them?” Allison piped up as well. 

Cora stepped inside the shop, joining them. “Why are we asking questions?”

“Because we want answers.” Lydia said calmly, still staring at Morrell. 

Marin smiled. “Lydia, you wrote the books. That’s why they don’t have a listed author or titles. You didn’t give us titles and we figured it would be better to have the author’s name, your name, omitted from the publications. You drew the artwork, too. All while you were sleepwalking.” 

“And you’re just now seeing fit to tell me this?” Lydia frowned. 

“The timing was wrong.” Marin glanced at Allison, answering question next. “You had the dreams because they made you remember the dreams you had already been having. It’s just that now, you have a conscious need to remember.” 

Allison blinked, and then looked at Lydia. “I think she just brain-twistered me. I feel dizzy.”

Cora frowned. “So… These books are Lydia’s, that she wrote while she was sleeping-”

“Sleepwalking.” Allison interrupted.

“- Sleepwalking,” Cora corrected herself. “But they’re legitimate books, just no titles, Lydia’s name isn’t on them, and they’re somehow in the past, but futuristic at the same time, and these two,” she pointed at Lydia and Allison, “have been having dreams because they already had the dreams.”

“Yes.” Marin smiled. “Exactly.” 

“Okay.” Lydia muttered. “So, where’s the door?” She watched the druid’s gaze flick toward the left before Morrell composed herself. 

“What door?” Marin asked casually. 

“The door you were looking toward when I said ‘door.’” Lydia countered. “I know there is one. I want to know where.” 

“Even if I told you, it wouldn’t matter. You can’t open it. Don’t you know what that would do?” Morrell frowned. 

“What would it matter what it would do?” Allison snapped. “Plenty of doors to alternate universes have been opened into our reality. They’ve all been sealed before with no problem. There’s a way to open that door, because there’s always a way to open a door like that. You’d be better off just telling us.”

Lydia blinked. “Allison, what doors have been opened already?” 

Allison looked at her. “Every major disruption that has happened in practically the last ten years can’t have just been because of stupid crap that the people here do. There have to be open gateways, or tears in the fabric of reality. There’s at least one that I know of, thanks to Dad, that’s somewhere in the middle of a crapton of railroad tracks in Wyoming. It’s a gateway to Hell.” She paused. “That one’s sealed, but I’m just making a point. Beacon Hills isn’t the only supernatural beacon on the planet, there’s gotta be tons of other places where the crap that happens here, also happens there.”

“Oh. I thought you meant... nevermind.” Lydia murmured. She yawned. “I feel like maybe the sleep I’ve been getting hasn’t been as restful as it could have been. Just tell us where the door is.” She demanded. “If I’ve been acting as a sort of conduit for everything, then I know opening the door won’t hurt me.” 

Cora had walked away, wandering around the room and sniffing suspiciously. She bent down to observe a door handle, and then spun and looked at Morrell with a scowl and growled. “Over here. C’mere, ladies.”

“Don’t do that!” Morrell yelled. 

Lydia smiled and ran toward the door that led to the basement. She could hear running footsteps behind her, but she wasn’t worried for Allison. She knew her friend could defend herself. 

Allison smirked over her shoulder at Morrell as she followed Lydia. “Just try to stop us.”

Lydia made her way down the basement stairs, wandering through the basement as she looked for the door. She had expected to hear more of a struggle taking place upstairs, but all she heard was the sound of footsteps behind her once more. She spotted an intricately carved door at the far wall, and she ran toward it, certain that this was the door that would bring her together with Scott. As soon as her palms touched the door, a light began glowing from the cracks around it. She closed her eyes, trying to focus and listen. The door didn’t have a knob or any other sort of handle. She knew, instinctively, that she was the only person who could get the door open. And as soon as she realized it and what was really happening, she stepped back in horror. “No.” 

“Yes.” Marin laughed as the door swung open. She pushed Lydia back. “I’ve waited long enough for this.” 

“What the hell.” Allison looked stunned, and then dove forward to tackle Marin.

Cora snarled and dove for the older woman as well. “What are you playing at, you druid trash?”

“All I had to do was say ‘don’t open that door,’ and you all went for it!” Marin laughed again. “Teenage girls are so predictable. I’ve had to wait sixteen years for this.” She lifted her hands, sending Cora and Allison flying off of her. She was on her feet a second later and walking toward the open door. 

“What do you have to gain?” Lydia asked, moving to block the druid’s path. “Why are you doing this?” 

“I won’t hurt your precious Scott.” Marin paused, then rolled her eyes and grabbed Lydia, shoving her backward through the doorway as she walked through. The door swung shut behind them, leaving the basement dark. 

Allison dove for the doorway a second too late. “No! Lydia!” She banged on the door, looking terrified. “Bring her back! _Let me in!_ ” She slumped when it became obvious that her pounding wasn’t working. “Oh, god. How’s she going to get back now?”

Cora pressed her lips together. “I think… I think now we should _really_ consider talking to someone else.” She murmured. She reached for Allison’s arm, tugging lightly and pulling the other girl up. “Come on.”


	3. Chapter 3

Lydia had hoped to fight the druid’s grasp and get free, then go looking for Scott. Instead, Morrell said a few words and Lydia was walking up the stairs and outside without any control over her own limbs. She glanced behind her, noting that in this world, the bookstore was a bakery. 

“Just keep walking.” Marin smiled, knowing that Lydia had no choice in the matter. “I’ll let you go in a couple of minutes. By the time I let you free, it’s going to be too late to stop me, anyway.” She held a hand out, making Lydia stop walking altogether. 

Lydia opened her mouth to speak, but she may as well have had laryngitis. She watched, feeling helpless, as the druid walked away and left her there. She looked around, taking in sights and sounds of Beacon Valley as she hoped that Scott or Stiles would find her. 

Erica walked down the main street, studying her pocket watch with a frown before she put it away, nearly running smack into Lydia. “Oh. Sorry.” She frowned, glancing at the other woman.

Lydia felt tears fill her eyes. She wiped at her eyes and realized that she could move her arms. She bit her lip, grabbing Erica’s hand and tapping her index finger against the blonde girl’s palm frantically. ‘SOS. Scott.’ She didn’t know much more than that, and couldn’t explain how she knew that Erica knew who Scott was. 

Erica stiffened, looking startled. “You need Scott? How - you can’t speak, what am I thinking. Can you move?” She asked, and grasped the other girl’s hand, trying to pull her along.

Lydia shook her head. 

“Well… balls.” Erica muttered. “Okay. Scott. I can get Scott. I’ll be right back.” She hurried off, unconsciously giving the other girl’s hand a squeeze.

Lydia gave Erica a grateful smile. She couldn’t walk, couldn’t speak, and was suddenly regretful that she had ever idolized Ariel as a child. 

It took a while - longer than she’d liked - but Erica came racing back, and behind her - Scott, looking terrified and alarmed. Erica stopped a short way away, but Scott kept running until he all but collided with Lydia, wrapping his arms around her. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened, can you tell me anything? Can you write? Erica, get me some parchment!”

Lydia put her arms around Scott and sighed. Her weight fell more heavily on him as Morrell’s spell wore off. “Oh, thank god.” She blurted, standing up straight. “She tricked me into opening the door for her. I don’t know what she wants from here or anything, she made it impossible for me to call out for help. If I hadn’t already made myself learn Morse code, I would have been stuck standing there until the spell faded. Allison and Cora were left back there. I don’t know what to do. Even if we open the door again, she’s still here.” 

Scott rubbed her back gently, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We’ll figure it out, Lydia.” He told her. “Now, explain to me, who is Morrell? How worried do we need to be?” He paused, looking around. “Actually, let’s get you out of the street, alright?” He scooped her up into his arms. “Erica, come on.” He ordered, and carried Lydia back toward his house.

Lydia couldn’t help laughing a little, too overwhelmed to protest. She glanced up, intrigued, at the sight of her own house. It was decorated differently in some aspects, different curtains for one thing, but she smiled. “They were right.” She murmured. “It’s the same.” 

Scott looked up at the building as well, curious. “My house?” He asked, looking down at her. “What do you mean?”

“Your house is my house.” Lydia explained. “Stiles and Allison have the same house, too.” 

“Really?” Scott looked surprised. “That’s insane.” 

Lydia laughed and nodded. “It is, but it also makes sense to me. I just want to know if my room is your room. It most likely is, since that’s how it is for them, too.” She stood up straight, sighing as she tried to figure out what to do about the situation they were in. 

Scott kept his arm around her, gently rubbing her back soothingly. “Hey. I know things are getting weirdly out of hand right now, but we’ll figure things out, okay? We’ll figure out what this Morrell person wants and why she’s here, and we’ll get Stiles, and your friends and make sure everyone’s safe, okay?”

“Okay.” Lydia murmured. “Show me your room?” 

“Sure.” Scott replied, smiling down at her. He paused and looked over his shoulder. “Hey, Erica, could you maybe go get Stiles? And keep an eye out for anyone who looks suspicious, like this Morrell character.”

Erica wiggled her eyebrows at him and saluted. “Yes, sir, boss-man.” She turned and left.

Scott flushed. “I didn’t, uh, mean for it to sound like I just wanted to get you alone?” He told Lydia awkwardly, leading her up to his bedroom.

Lydia looked around in delight, awestruck by the lamps and the clothes in his closet. “This is my room.’ She said softly. “But I have electricity. You should come see. I think you would like it. Maybe.” She sat down on his bed and looked up at him. 

Scott rubbed at the back of his neck, suddenly seeming at a complete loss for what to do with his hands, which he only realized when they retraced the path from his neck, to his hips, to the pocket of his vest, down to the pockets of his pants, and back again. “Maybe.” He murmured. He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking awkward.

“Am I making you nervous?” Lydia asked quietly, watching him. “Should I get up?” 

“No!” Scott blurted. “No. I just…” He exhaled slowly. “I just… I never thought you’d be here. And now that you are, I just…” He laughed self-deprecatingly. “I don’t know what to do with myself.”

Lydia moved closer to Scott and kissed him. She pulled back, feeling a little self-conscious. “Okay?” 

Scott nodded slowly, leaning in to kiss her again. He took a deep breath a second before their lips touched, and his hand lifted to stroke through her hair.

Lydia smiled and put her hands on his shoulders. “I’ve been waiting for this. Not as long as you have, I guess. But I thought I was crazy for thinking you were real, at first.” 

“I thought the only place where I could ever be with you was going to be in my dreams.” Scott admitted. “Until you started talking to me, I figured that was all I had.” He slid his arms around her waist.

Lydia kissed Scott again. “Now that I know how to get to you, and that it’s not dangerous, I can do it whenever I want. If you... if you don’t want to come with me. I don’t know if I could live here forever.” 

Scott tilted his head. “You don’t like it here?” He asked curiously. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, hugging her close. “I don’t mind coming with you, but… I do have to make some arrangements. I couldn’t just… There’s things here that I have to make sure are taken care of if I’ll be gone for a good period of time.”

“I do like it here. I just got here, though. I’m not asking you to come with me forever, I understand that we live how we live. If we just visit, that’s okay.” Lydia said quickly. 

Scott smiled a little, kissing her again. Now that he _had_ kissed her, he just couldn’t seem to stop. “We could alternate.” He teased her. “I could stay with you for a month, you could turn around and stay with me for a month…”

Lydia smiled, eager to agree, but she stopped. “Oh, I can’t. I’m still only sixteen. I have to finish high school and I don’t think my mom will just let me stay gone.” 

“Oh.” Scott furrowed his brows together, frowning. “This is a bit more complicated than I thought it would be.” He thought for a long moment, tapping his fingers lightly on Lydia’s arm. “Maybe - maybe we could start small, then? You could visit me when you aren’t in school, and I could visit you… every week’s end?”

Lydia smiled. “I would like that.” She nodded. “I’ll have to leave soon, probably.” She kissed Scott again. “It was around four o’clock when I left. I can’t stay all night, and I should get back to my friends. Do you want to come with me?” 

Scott smiled. “Well, like I said, I’ve gotta make some arrangements, first, but… I’d love to.”

Lydia nodded and was about to say something more when she heard someone running up the stairs. She stood up nervously, more than a little frightened, at the sight of a guy with rumpled brown hair and brown eyes. He was much paler than Scott, but the familiarity between them left no doubt who he was. “Hi, Stiles.” 

Stiles smiled crookedly. “Lydia.” He greeted her, then turned toward Scott. “I got here as fast as I could.” 

Scott stood and smiled. “Thank you. Lydia…” He cleared his throat. “Lydia says there’s a woman that tricked her into opening the doorway between our worlds. She closed the door on Allison and her friend Cora, but she pushed Lydia through… I don’t know what she’s looking for, but it doesn’t seem like she could want to come here for anything good.”

Stiles nodded. “So we’ll find her and stop her. I’ll tell my dad, too.” He glanced at Lydia. “You’ll be safer on the other side of things.” He murmured. 

“Out of the way, you mean?” Lydia asked, snorting. “The second I get that door open, Allison and Cora are coming right through it, probably with a small army of their own.” 

Scott’s lips twitched, and he glanced at Stiles. “She’s dealt with these sort of things before.” He murmured. “We’d actually probably have better luck knowing what we’re up against with her here. With all of them, really.” He furrowed his brow. “Where was the door, by the way?”

“It’s in the basement of your bakery. Our bookstore.” Lydia explained. “We should hurry. For all I know, time moves faster there and I’ve been gone for weeks.” 

Scott glanced at Stiles. “That would explain a few things.” He murmured. He offered his hand to Lydia and patted Stiles’ shoulder. “Let’s go, man.”

Stiles nodded and walked back down the stairs, glancing over his shoulder at Lydia. He took in the sight of her clothes, bemused. “Your world is very different from ours.” 

Scott stared at Lydia as well, smiling faintly. “I don’t know that I mind that so much.” He murmured. “I’m planning on visiting her world, once we get everything worked out.”

“I want to go with you.” Stiles murmured. “To see Allison.” He was going to send his dad a message, then realized he had no idea what to tell him. “We should go to the station before we get that door open again, yeah?” 

Scott nodded, smiling. “Yeah, we should. And by the hospital, too. I don’t want Mom to worry.”

“Maybe I should go take care of talking to my dad while you talk to your mom?” Stiles suggested. “I’ll need to bring Lydia with me, though. She’s the only one that can describe what this dryad looks like.” 

“Druid.” Lydia corrected, smiling. 

“Eh.” Stiles muttered, shrugging. “It’s faster to do ‘em both at once, then meet at the bakery. Not much of a bakery anymore, it’s been shut down since I was a kid.” 

Lydia had a feeling she knew why that was. “Okay.” She kissed Scott, then turned toward Stiles. “Let’s go.” 

“I’ll see you in a bit.” Scott nodded at them both. He hurried off.

Stiles was quiet for a moment as he led Lydia toward the police station. “You won’t fit in here, when you visit. You’ll want to take care of that, I think. You seem like you’d care.” He glanced at her. “Scott won’t care. Not about how you dress when you’re here. But he’ll be worried the entire time he’s with you, over there. He’s skittish.”

“I noticed that.” Lydia nodded. “But I didn’t ask for a guidebook.” 

“Too bad.” Stiles smirked. “I’m giving you one. If you don’t listen, everyone is going to start asking questions about the door and they’ll do the same thing that this druid of yours did. We’ll have so many people going back and forth, they’ll think about widening the gap and sending airships through.” 

Lydia sighed. “Okay, you’re right.” She murmured, rubbing her eyes. The thought of people treating her world like a vacation spot made her sick. 

Stiles gave Lydia a sympathetic look as he opened the door for her. “Hey, Pop!” He called out. “We’ve got a little bit of a problem.” 

John looked up, looking concerned. “What sort of problem?” He asked, frowning. He tilted his head at Lydia. “Who’s this?”

“This is Lydia.” Stiles explained. “Scott’s girl. We should talk privately. The three of us.” 

John paused, then nodded, standing. “Come on. We’ll talk in my office.” He said, gesturing them forward into the room.

Lydia waited until the door was closed before she spoke. “I was kidnapped.” She began. “I’m sixteen and I’m not from here. But you won’t be able to arrest her for that when you see her, it’ll be hard to make it stick.” 

Stiles looked pained. “There’s a door that separates our world from hers. She’s really, really not from here. Look how she’s dressed. Anyway, the woman that brought her here is magic, somehow. She tricked Lydia into opening the door so that she could come through, then she left her here and wandered off. We don’t know where she’s gone or what she wants.” 

John blinked, staring at them. “Um. I don’t quite know what to say about… magic, or… doorways, but…” He looked at Lydia. “If you’ve been kidnapped, then I can at least try and help you out there. What does this woman look like? Do you know her name?”

“Yes. It’s Marin Morrell.” Lydia spelled the name for the Sheriff, then grabbed a piece of paper and started drawing her. “This is what she looks like. The last time I saw her, she was headed off in a certain direction, like she knew exactly where she was going.” 

John frowned. “That’s… not good. That’s not good at all. If she came here knowing exactly where she’s going, then she already has an idea of what she’s looking for, or who.”

“I have to get home.” Lydia murmured. “But I can come back through, now that I know how. I can help you find her. I can get other people to come back through with me. This is our... this is what we do.” 

John nodded. “If we find her… Well, I suppose we’ll let you know.”

“I shouldn’t be too long.” Lydia blurted, standing up. “I’ll be right back after I go over.” 

Stiles got to his feet, glancing at his dad. 

John raised his eyebrows at Stiles. “What is it, son?”

“I’m going to walk her back. Just to make sure she stays safe.” Stiles began. “But I might take a look around over there. We’ll both come right back. Us and Scott.” 

John immediately looked concerned. “If you're going to go over there, I want you to take all of your offensive and defensive tools with you. You don't know what it's going to be like, you don't know what will happen.” He paused. “Okay, maybe not all of your tools. Maybe just half. Take half.”

Stiles nodded. “I will. I’ve got them with me already.” He patted the pocket of his coat and opened the door for Lydia again. “Two hours, three at most, we’ll be back.” 

John nodded back, giving Stiles a small smile before reaching out and squeezing his son’s shoulder. “Be safe in the meantime.”

“I will.” Stiles hugged John and followed Lydia back outside, then put a hand on her elbow. 

Lydia frowned at him. “What?” 

“We have different customs here.” Stiles murmured. “Just come on.” He led the way to the bakery, going in to make sure it was safe before he came back to get her. 

Scott hurried in not long after, grimacing. “She isn't too happy that I'm just up and disappearing again. I’d told her I'd be around for a bit longer this time.” He sighed and shook his head. “How did things go with your dad?” He asked Stiles. 

“Better’n I thought.” Stiles muttered. “But I think that’s something we’ll have to talk about later.” He gestured for Lydia to go down the stairs. 

Lydia rolled her eyes and hugged Scott. “I’m glad you’re safe.” 

Scott smiled and hugged her back, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Me, too.” He murmured. “I mean, I'm glad you're safe, too.” He beamed a little at her. “Lead the way?”

Lydia nodded and walked down the stairs, pressing her palms against the door again and waiting for the glow to surround it before she pushed the door open. 

Allison came stumbling, falling, through a second later, letting out a yelp. “What the hell!” She squealed, stumbling. 

Stiles held a hand out to help Allison up. “We came back to get you.” He smiled. 

Allison stared up at him, her mouth falling open slightly. A second later, she was jumping at him, throwing her arms around him, unable to speak. 

Stiles put his arms around Allison and laughed. “Nice to see you again.” He teased. 

Allison buried her face in his neck and giggled. “It's nice to see you again, too.” She whispered, hugging him tightly. 

“I told my dad I would be gone three hours, at most.” Stiles murmured. “I’d like to see what things look like here, find out if we can see what your druid-” He gave Lydia a pointed look to show that he knew he had said it right that time - “is doing on our side of the door. Figure out how to stop her and do it.” 

Allison nodded. “That sounds like a plan. We think she's looking for something, but that was pretty much all we got.”

“She did something to me. She made me walk up the stairs and outside on my own, and then I couldn’t move or yell for help. If Erica hadn’t come by when she had...” Lydia bit her lip. 

“But she did.” Stiles interjected. “And we’re here.” He slid a set of lock picks out of his jacket pocket. “Show me where her office is.” 

Allison let go of Stiles long enough to give Lydia a tight hug, whispering to her that she was glad the other girl had returned, and how worried she'd been. She grasped the other girl’s hand and started up the stairs, heading toward Morrell’s office. “Right this way.”

Stiles looked around in amazement at the bright lighting and how it was everywhere. He didn’t see a single stove as they walked, but the building was warm. “Is everything like this?” He blurted, awestruck. “What are your automobiles like?” 

There was something warm settling in Allison’s stomach as she watched Stiles’ reaction. She ducked her head and grinned. “Large, loud, occasionally sleek, sometimes terrifying.” She admitted. “But, yes. Everything is like this here.”

Scott gazed around, his own eyes wide. “I've never seen anything like this before.” He breathed. “I don't think I've ever even imagined anything like this before.”

Lydia smiled. “We’ll take you for a ride in a car, and then you can take us for a ride in the airship.” She laughed.

Stiles picked the lock on Morrell’s office door. He frowned at the dark room. “How do you make it light in here?” 

Lydia waved a hand to get his attention, then flipped the light switch. She cleared her throat a moment later when Stiles immediately started turning the lights off and back on. “Are you finished?” 

Stiles shrugged one shoulder at her and started looking around the office.

Allison stared at Stiles unabashedly, and then looked at Lydia. “I would have done very, very badly without electricity.” She whispered. 

“Scott and I have agreed to spend as much time together as we can. Afternoons in his world, weekends in mine.” Lydia grinned. 

Allison laughed quietly. “I hope Stiles and I can figure out something like that.” She squeezed Lydia’s shoulder. “I'm happy for you, Lyds.”

“Thanks. I’m happy for you, too.” Lydia smiled. She opened one of the desk drawers and started looking through papers. “Where’s Cora?” 

“She's talking to her uncle.” Allison murmured. “She thought maybe Peter would have some insight into what Morrell is after and why.” She moved toward a filing cabinet and opened it, furrowing her brows as she searched through it. 

“And you didn’t go with her?” Lydia teased quietly. “See if Peter has some insight into other things?” 

Allison ‘shushed’ her quickly, looking over her shoulder toward Stiles. “Why would I? Especially now?” She whispered. 

“I wasn’t serious.” Lydia murmured. “But if you like him, you like him. And don’t think I haven’t noticed him looking at you.” She turned toward a small bookshelf in one corner of the room, her gaze skimming over the titles of the books. She grabbed one that looked unfamiliar, opening it carefully. 

Allison glanced over her shoulder again at Stiles, and then moved closer to Lydia, frowning down at the book. “What does it say?” She asked quietly. 

“It says that she’s looking for a kitsune. Kira.” Lydia blinked. “Oh no. Kira.” She turned and ran back toward the stairs. 

Allison ran up behind the two men, tugging on both their arms. “She's after Kira,” she blurted. “Come on.” She raced down the stairs after Lydia. 

Scott cursed. “And we left her and Erica alone.” He muttered. “Please let your dad have caught this woman.”

Stiles followed after everyone, sending a message to his dad on his phone and hoping it would actually get to him. ‘Morrell wants Kira. Call Noshiko.’


End file.
